Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1887-09-09
FISHING FOR SHAD.
OPENING OF THE ANNUAL SEASON
ON THE HUDSON RIVER.

of the Fish-LOsses to Which Fisher
men Are Subject.
At the foot of Rocky bluff, in Weehawken,
stood picturesque group of shad fishermen.
Their feet were thrust into big rubber boots.
Stretched upon poles stuck in the sandy beach
Of the Hudson river We're many torn nets,
and hung over elevated poles were nets which
had never been used and which were waiting
to have stout cords run around their edges
Hickory and white oak trees from sixty to
seventy-fve feet in length and eight to ten
inches in thickness, and tapering to point,
lay upon the strand, some of them partly i'm
| bedded in the mud of the shoal water. Fish
ermen say that the mud preserves the wood
fiber and keeps it free from worms These
poles are taken out into the river and driven
down through forty feet of water into the
rivers bottom.
| The boats which the fishermen use are
thirty-two feet long and six feet wide. Each
boat is manned by four men. The poles are
driven down by the help of what the fisher
men call "riders." These riders are stout
pieces OF timber fastened at right angles to
the poles BY standing upon the riders and
| granting and "heave hoing" vigorously the
| poles arc made to staml upright so that they
will resist the action of the wind and tide
They are placed about forty feet apart in
rows of from thirty-six to forty.
ARRANGING THE NETS.
When the poles have all been planted two
| ropes eleven feet long arc fastened to the bot
| tom corners of each net The nets are about
thirty feet square. At the extremity of each
of these ropes is tied an iron hoop. TO the
two corners of the top of the net are tied
ropes sixteen feet in length. The hoops arc
dropped over the poles and sunk to tho bot
TOM. The top ropes are tied near the surface
of the water, and thus the net bellies up or
down the river at the bidding of the tide 1t
is roughly estimated that some go rows of
these poles are planted from Staten Island to
Yonkels on the Jersey shore. -Four stout
men are required to lift one of the nets,
freightcd as they are with shad. Most of the
fish are taken from the bag of the net very
few of them being caught by the gills The
men employed are paid from $50 to $50 per
month and board, according to skill and ex-
perience
"Pcrsons unacquainted with the details of
shad fishing may think that no education is
necessary in order to catch shad, =" said Mr..
Randolph Clayton, "but | have been fishing
for twenty two years and | am not an expert.
|
habits of the fish he is trying to catch. Other
important factors are knowledge of wind
and tide. When the water is cold shad swim
| close to the bottom; when the water Is warm
| the fish swim close to the surface. The nets
| must be trimmed to catch them wherever
| they swim. Little is known of the habits of
| the shad Many theories arc held by fisher
| men, but they are not founded on facts
| Some fishermen hold that when the wind
| blows from the west fishermen should throw
| their nets i'll that direction, and that the
same plan should be followed when the wind
| is from the east. OF one thing we are GER
tain. When the conditions of air and sea are
| unfavorable as the fish come up along the
coast they will seek harbor by the way
| just as a vessel would do in stress of weather.
| If a school of North river shad runs into the
Delaware river tho chances are that they will
stay there, and SO many less fish are caught
in our water"
LIABILITY TO LOSS.
ITO what losses are the shad fishermen
liable y
"Wcll, vessels run over our poles and nets
Many poor fisherman has lost his whole
plant because some pilot wouldn't give Lis
wheel turn. One slap of steamships paddle
| wheel will tear net to shreds. It's no Joke
to have pole torn up and set adrift when it
costs from So to $40 We suffer, also, some
what from the greediness of crabs Further
| up the river, where shad are caught in drift
nets, many n fine fish is disembowlcd by
| large celsn
'How long does the ishing lastf'
"F'rom eight to ten weeks. During that
| time the nets arc lifted twice day at high
water and slack Every forty eight hours
Vic nets are taken ashore and cleaned of the
slime from the river, and the rents in the nets
| are mended.o
"Havc fishermen any protection under the
lawsf
Eyes. Jersey laws permit lis to fish fer
shad to the middle of the river. But we have
no means of determining the limit of our fish
ing ground. The fishing grounds have never
been buoyed. Once in a while we inadvert-
entity stick pole into New York water, and
the harbor police destroy our nets. We
don't infringe Intentionally, and the middle
Of the river is very difficult to determine
We fishermen think we are entitled to more
exact legislation, and that we ought to have
more protection. The people of New York
want their broilcd and stuffed shad in its sea-
son, and we are of the opinion that our rights
should be more strictly Defined
what is the average haul to Il row of
polessn
"Thc number of fish varies greatly. One
set of nets yielded 400 fish in one tide last
season. Two years ago u man about four
miles below US caught / 100 shad at ono haul
| | think it would be safe to say that the aver
age haul is less than 100 fish"
when docs the season cnd.'
"On June 81 the nets and poles are brought
ashore. The nets are good for two seasons
work. The poles are left in tho mud until
next spring. Tho men, who are farmers, car
penters, and few of them blue fishermen,
so to work at their several pursuits healthier
and wealthier for their brief sojourn OH the
river. now York Cor st. Louis Republi.
can.
Making Artificial Rubics.
NJ. Frenzy has read u paper at the French
Academy of Sciences. describing the success